Without Sin review: Is Vicky McClure's psychological drama any good?

As first proven with her star-making turn as Lol in Shane Meadows’ This Is England series, few British actresses can handle such misery drowning as effectively as McClure. But while Stella remains visibly haunted by the tragedy, she also possesses a steeliness that will stand her in good stead for the twists and turns about to unfold: see how efficiently she kicks out a handsy backseat passenger in the opening scene as a prime example.

Stella’s nocturnal way of life – a blatant coping mechanism – is upended, however, when she and ex-husband Paul (Perry Fitzpatrick, who played Sherwood’s drug-dealing hoodlum Rory Sparrow) receive a voice message from the man convicted of killing their only child. Not only does he want to now atone for his sins, he wants to do so in person.

While both parents are initially dismissive of this request, Stella gradually becomes a little more inquisitive. A meeting with an empathetic Restorative Justice liaison officer who encourages the face-to-face meeting ("It can change your life") gives her pause for thought, and on hearing about the latest development in Paul’s new relationship, she agrees to a visit.

McClure is typically captivating as a woman who must keep her seething rage intact if she’s to gain any sense of closure. And the already palpably tense meeting is given an extra frisson by the inspired casting of Johnny Harris as prisoner Charles Stone: This Is England ‘86 viewers will remember his BAFTA-nominated turn as Lol’s abusive father Mick Jenkins.

Of course, with several hours of television still left to spare, it’s inevitable that this encounter doesn’t go as planned. At first, Stone appears to be a more mild-mannered character than Jenkins, a monster eventually bludgeoned to death by his own daughter. But his softly spoken demeanour and seemingly genuine sense of remorse soon gives way to similar traits. Before long, officers are literally dragging Stone back to his cell, with the bombshell he drops also leaving Stella howling in anguish on a motorway bridge.

We could quite happily watch Harris and McClure going toe to toe with each other in an empty prison meeting room all day long. But following their hot-tempered run-in, Without Sin turns from an intimate portrayal of grief and forgiveness into a more expansive quest involving missing teenagers, secret cocaine habits and a local mafia who appear to have their fingers in every criminal pie.

Line of Duty fans will no doubt enjoy McClure in investigative mode once again as she roams around the inner-city streets of Nottingham quizzing everyone from Stone’s immediate family to her own mother’s new beau. The now-mandatory regular flashbacks, which slowly drip feed more details about the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death, further suggest that the assumed version of events may well be distorted.

But judging from the first two episodes available for review, this swerve into whodunit/whydunit territory doesn’t quite pay off. It’s hard to get invested in the disappearance of a girl when both her own mother and the show itself treat her as an afterthought, and the cast of misfits who may be able to shed some light on the matter, and whether it’s connected at all to Stella’s tragedy, offer little in the way of personality.

Furthermore, McClure’s hopes that viewers will enjoy the city in all its glory might be a little optimistic: the majority of exterior scenes are set within a concrete jungle under gloomy, cloudy skies. And the interiors aren’t much brighter. Even the swanky kitchen – a pre-requisite for most of ITV’s original dramas of late – which doubles up as a bedroom during some extra-marital hanky panky is decidedly dreary.

Without Sin will inevitably suffer from any comparisons with its more scenic neighbouring drama, a serious contender for one of the must-see shows of 2022. Nevertheless, McClure and Harris’ deeply visceral screen reunion alone makes it worth enduring all the various shades of grey.

Without Sin will be available to stream on ITVX from 28th December. For more news, interviews and features, visit our Drama hub, or find something to watch now with our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.

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